Hot Sheet Week of Jan 8

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond — Bryce Dallas Howard pouts and flounces about, acting up a Southern-fried storm as unbalanced belle Fisher Willow in 1920s Mississippi. Too bad it's much ado about nothing, as this previously unproduced screenplay written by Tennessee Williams in the late 1950s probably should have remained so. Chris Evans looks fetching in period garb but barely registers as the beau accused of stealing the titular accessory. Only the great Ellen Burstyn energizes the otherwise tedious film while, ironically, bound to her deathbed as Miss Addie, who begs Fisher to end her suffering. Discerning viewers will wish she could do the same for them.

Leap Year — Will Leap Year have the magic touch to put a stop to all of the Amy Adams hate? After she rose to stardom with films like Enchanted and Doubt, fans turned
their backs on her less-than-stellar turns in Night at the Museum 2 and
the otherwise enjoyable Julie & Julia. Maybe her first time out as
the romantic lead will win some of those fans back — plus, watching her
romance Matthew Goode, hot on the heels of him hitting the hay with
Colin Firth in A Single Man, can’t hurt.

Daybreakers — Ethan Hawke and his teeth get into the vampire craze with this horror film set 10 years in the future in which the human blood supply is dwindling and the vampire race must fight for survival. This is surely a bit more adult than all that PG Twilight stuff, and Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill offer ample acting support.

Music

Animal by Ke$ha — Ke$ha is the latest pop tart (complete with a number 1 single for the mildly amusing "Tik Tok"), and like Lady Gaga, she sings about getting wasted, bagging boys, and other profundity. Her voice is nonexistent, but she's got a brazen sexuality and lust for fun that, if you're not 22, will either make you long for those days or thank the creator they're long gone. Boys for Pele this is not (but neither is The Fame Monster or anything Beyoncé, Fergie, Mariah, Madonna, or Shakira puts out). Oh, and she's headlining the Dinah lesbian festival in March. Out Tuesday.

Contra by Vampire Weekend — If you have a yen for adorable hipsters, you'll enjoy, at the very least, the videos of Vampire Weekend. The indie group from New York made a splash a few years back with their 2008 self-titled release, and their follow-up, Contra, is generating the same kind of buzz among the tuned-in. The first single, "Cousins," is a hoot and a half. Out Tuesday.

EP from Eric and the Adams — This unnamed EP features five tunes from Eric Himan's new Tulsa-based band. Himan is the tattooed, out singer-songwriter who's released six albums on his own and seen many of his songs featured on TV shows like The Hills and The Real World. Now the singer has joined forces with the brother-sister team of Angel and Jimmy Adams—the trio will play songs from the new EP January 15 at the legendary Dallas lesbian club Sue Ellen's.

DVDs

Robin Hood: Season Three — With Robin Hood fever sure to soar once again later this year as Russell Crowe tries his hand at playing the classic character, the BBC is rolling out the third and final season of its Robin Hood series, with sexy Jonas Armstrong in the title role. Before finding out what Crowe and director Ridley Scott do to the legend, try this one on for size.

Big Love: The Complete Third Season — Things heat up on the third season of Big Love, particularly for Alby Grant (Matt Ross), whose attempts to have sex with other men start to catch up with him. We won’t give too much away about the plot from season 3, but let's just say if you grew up gay and Mormon, this season might just hit especially close to home.